Changes

Why You Should Use UTF-8 CuteNews

UTF-8 CuteNews is a project based on the popular CMS CuteNews.
It is a script that is very easy to install and use.

Since there are no known development plans for CuteNews, I've started UTF-8 CuteNews to fix bugs and add some more security options to make CuteNews not only safer, but also more user-friendly and accessible.

Why use UTF-8 CuteNews?

1. Languages UTF-8 CuteNews will display every character correctly. No question marks instead of symbols! Users can also search with characters outside of A-Z, something CuteNews does not allow. A new language module allows users to translate the output to their native language.
2. Captcha Spambots surf the web to find comment forms in which they can post links to undesired websites. Automatic submissions can be prevented with the built-in captcha (anti-spam) feature of UTF-8 CuteNews - saving you the strenuous work of deleting such comments.
3. Security We care about your security. UTF-8 CuteNews has additional security features, such as a function which allows you to ban IP addresses automatically when they send excessive login requests, so that you can stay safe.
4. Bug fixes Error messages are pesky. Numerous bugs have been fixed in UTF-8 CuteNews to make your CuteNews experience more enjoyable and to make it a more stable and reliable script. Additional fixes are contained so that UTF-8 CuteNews is compatible with the latest technology.
5. Upgrading Upgrading to UTF-8 CuteNews is a very easy procedure, allowing you to keep all of your news, comments, users, templates and settings. On the outside, it looks exactly like the familiar, user-friendly CuteNews 1.4.6, except that it's robuster and more advanced.

I've been working with CuteNews for over 4 years and am part of the official support team of CuteNews (named (lKj) on the forums). Most changes are discussed beforehand with all active support members, some of which have over 5 years of experience with CuteNews!

1. Languages

CuteNews does not always display all "special characters" (any letters with accents, or languages not using the A-Z alphabet) correctly. With UTF-8 CuteNews, you can say goodbye to question marks instead of special letters! You don't have to create list replacements or any other complicated workaround.

People can view your articles without any problems in UTF-8 CuteNews and can also comment in their native symbols. You can use foreign symbols for nicknames and category names and your RSS feed is valid, no matter what characters you use.

Foreign characters are displayed properly in news articles, comments and nicknames.

2. Captcha

UTF-8 CuteNews has a built-in spam prevention. You don't have to download additional files and follow complicated instructions, just change a setting and you're protected against undesired comments!

3. Security

In CuteNews 1.4.6, some input isn't checked properly. Due to this, administrators are able to execute PHP code and bring disorder in a database file. These problems have been fixed in UTF-8 CuteNews.

Additionally, UTF-8 CuteNews comes with a feature which allows you to ban an IP address after too many unsuccessful logins.

The login ban feature in UTF-8 CuteNews prevents brute force attacks.

4. Bug Fixes

As browsers evolve, new code changes must be made so that everything still is compatible with the latest technology. Users of Internet Explorer 8 and CuteNews 1.4.6 cannot insert images into the WYSIWYG editor. If CuteNews is installed on a server with a recent PHP version, error messages will appear to the user. This is not the case with UTF-8 CuteNews, where one of the main goals is to stay up-to-date with the newest technology and standards.

These issues, along with other bugs, have been fixed in UTF-8 CuteNews. Other bugs which have been fixed include a security hole with which administrators could execute PHP code on your server, one where news titles would disappear in the Edit News page when quotes were used and various PHP error messages which could be produced by inputing something unexpected.

5. Upgrading

Why not try out UTF-8 CuteNews today? By following the upgrading instructions, you can keep all of your data. Unlike CuteNews, we fix bugs and respond to the latest technology changes promptly, so that you don't have to worry about painstakingly searching for code and replacing it yourself.

Any known bugs of CuteNews or UTF-8 CuteNews are fixed as soon as possible and you can stay up to date thanks to the news window in the main administration page.

Advantages

UTF-8 CuteNews provides you a safer, more stable experience. The look and feel in UTF-8 CuteNews remains the same as in CuteNews. The powered-by line will also NOT be disabled if you own a license.

Upgrading to UTF-8 CuteNews is very easy, and, should you not like UTF-8 CuteNews, you can change back to CuteNews 1.4.6 without any incompatibilities. (Be sure to leave me a message if you don't like UTF-8 CuteNews!)

Additionally, users can now search again in characters other than A-Z, 0-9 and the hyphen (-). This is a big advantage for people who use characters other than the basic Latin alphabet!

The search function in UTF-8 CuteNews allows users to search in their characters.

» UTF-8 CuteNews download page